Loki Makes a Major Change to Victor Timely's Origin

The MCU's Victor Timely gets a new — and paradoxical — origin story.

By Jenna Anderson

We're now officially halfway through Loki's sophomore season, and the show is presenting some fascinating challenges for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After being teased in the show's marketing for months, as well as the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the third episode of Loki's second season finally folded in Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors). In the process, the show made an unexpected change to Victor's rise to power — one that differs from how it occurs in the world of Marvel Comics. Spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3 of Loki below! Only look if you want to know!

In Episode 3, we finally see the mission that Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) has been sent on, at the behest of He Who Remains (also played by Majors) and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong). Renslayer is transported to 1868, and asked to drop a book into a window. The book ends up being the Time Variance Authority's manual, and the window ends up being part of the home of a young Victor Timely. When Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) end up in 1898, they see the impact of Renslayer's action — the book provided Timely with the knowledge to become a prolific inventor, and he is showcasing his talents at the Chicago World's Fair. 

Who Is Victor Timely in Marvel Comics?

This varies significantly from how Timely, a variant of Kang who becomes the founder and mayor of a small Wisconsin town, was introduced in Marvel Comics. In those stories, Timely was already a fully-adult Kang variant, who set his sights on "conquering" the 20th Century in order to rebuild his image. Assuming the alias of Victor Timely, this Kang became a massive industrialist, and ruled over the town for years — at one point, even faking his death and pretending to be his own son, Victor Timely Jr.

Instead, Loki's version of Timely is not already a successful Kang variant — he is seemingly a child who grew up in the late 1800s and rose to prominence on his own accord. The fact that Renslayer and the TVA also led to what is essentially his "creation" is even more interesting (and even a bit paradoxical), considering the fact that He Who Remains created the organization.

What Is Loki Season 2 About?

Marvel Studios fan-favorite Tom Hiddleston stars in Loki Season 2, returning as the titular God of Mischief for another round of time-traveling hijinx on Disney+ on October 5th. Loki is once again joined by Mobius (Owen Wilson) as the two attempt to keep the timelines intact. After the events of Season 1 saw his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) kill He Who Remains and unleash the wrath of Kang the Conqueror upon the Multiverse, Loki must once again embark on an adventure to keep reality from collapsing. Loki was last seen in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, where he and Mobius were keeping tabs on one of Kang's mysterious variants. Loki Season 2 will continue the story of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

ComicBook.com's podcast Phase Zero will be recording live episodes every week following Loki season 2's new episodes on Disney+. Each week we will review, breakdown, and discuss the latest installment of the new Marvel series immediately after the episode's conclusion! The new episodes will be broadcast live on the Phase Zero channel on YouTube before being made available on all major podcast platforms. Phase Zero will begin its 5-minute timer to start the live show at 9:45pm ET on Thursday, October 5. You can subscribe to the Phase Zero channel now and turn on notifications to make sure you don't miss the Loki Season 2 bonus episodes!

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